The court has told the Collin County Commissioners Court to vote on the fees within the next thirty days, after which the court will rule on the fees' legality.County Judge Keith Self, who sits on the commissioners court, called the decision "judicial overreach," and said it's time to go to trial in the Paxton case so the county can "stop the bleeding."

"We've entered the theater of the absurd," he told The Dallas Morning News on Friday. "Let's pay the bill. Let's get this case to trial. If an injustice has been done, let the trial sort it out."

The commissioners will vote Monday on the prosecution's latest bill, Self said. He could not guess how the vote would turn out, but if the commissioners turn down the payment, it could hamper the court's ability to decide the case pending before them.

Earlier this year, a North Texas developer and Paxton ally sued the county and the prosecutors, arguing their $300-an-hour rate violated his rights as a taxpayer, broke a local rule governing lawyers fees and was absurdly high. His case went to the Dallas appeals court, which will determine whether his case has merit.

Paxton is accused of violating state securities laws by defrauding investors in a North Texas technology startup called Servergy Inc. The prosecution also says he failed to register with the state as an investment adviser representative. The alleged crimes date to Paxton's time in the state House and carry a maximum penalty of 99 years in prison and tens of thousands in fines.

Earlier this year, a federal judge threw out civil fraud charges lobbed against Paxton related to the Servergy claims. Paxton has pleaded not guilty to all the allegations and has pledged to stay in office while fighting them.